Therapeutic and/or rehabilitation apparatus



United States Patent 72] Inventor Paul C. Emmons 71 Le Brun Road,Buffalo, New York 14215 [21] Appl. No. 733,541 [22] Filed May 31, 1968[45] Patented Nov. 10, 1970 [54] THERAPEUTIC AND/0R REHABILITATIONAPPARATUS 8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl. 128/25, 3 5/29 [51] Int. Cl. A6lh H02 [50] Field of Search128/24, 25,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,074,716 l/l963 Mitcheletal l28/25X 3,362,090 l/1968 Adam l28/25X Primary Examiner- L.W. TrappAttorney Bean and Bean ABSTRACT: A therapeutic apparatus for treatingpatients suffering from brain damage or other immobilizing injuries,diseases or illnesses; the apparatus being of the type which is adaptedfor use in connection with rehabilitation or teaching programs whereinexternally induced movements of the patients body are employed to teach"patterns" of natural movements. The invention features an apparatuswhereby a single attendant may perform patterning exercises on a patientwith improved facility.

Patented Nqv. 10, 1970 Sheet l of2 INVENTOR.

Patentd Nov. 10, 1970 v I 3,538,911-

INVENTOR PAUL c. EMMONS ATTORNEYS THERAPEUTIC AND/R REHABILITATIONAPPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates totherapeutic devices for treating patie'nts suffering from birth defects,congenital deformities; or other diseases or illnesses resulting inbrain or spinal cord or joint or muscular damage. Such diseases andillnesses may include those defined as polio, muscular dystrophy,cerebral palsy, multiplesclerosis, bursitis, rheumatism, arthritis,spinal meningitis, or the like. It is now recognized that regularlyperformed programs of externally induced movements of the extremities ofsuch patients is often an important aid to recovery and/or developmentof natural mobile capabilities in such cases.

More particularly, there has recently been developed an effectivetechnique for treating ailments of this type, which is sometimesreferred to as mobile patteming. Such treatments impose a variety ofmotions upon various parts of the patients body, with a view toeducating previously inactive areas of the controlling brain cells toinduce .them to take over and control the body. normal motions and/orfunctions.

The objectives of such treatment techniques, and of prior forms ofapparatuses for such purposes are discussed at some length, for example,in earlier US. Pat. Nos." 3,060,926; 3,229,688; and 3,362,090.As'explained therein, such treatments minimally must be performed severaltimes daily; and the prior art apparatuses for such purposes typicallyrequire that at least several persons participate in the patterning"manipulations of the head and arms and legs of the patient. Furthermore,the prior devices are not readily adaptable to provide for asufficiently wide range of manipulation adjustments to meet varyingmedical requirements.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved andmore easily operated device for such purposes, whereby a single personmay satisfactorily perform selective and repeatable, programmedpatterning" exercises on a patient, with a minimum of strain and fatigueon both the patient and the operator.

3 Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following and specification and the accompanying drawingwherein:

THE DRAWING how the apparatus may be variously adjusted and employed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As shown by wayof example, in the drawing herewith,the machine of the present invention may include a base structurecomprising frame members l0, 10, 11, ll; portably supported as by meansof castoring rollers 12 (FIG. 1). A pair of vertical post members 14-14extend upwardly from the front end of the base structure and supportintermediately thereof a horizontal sillmember 1 6; the other end of thesill member 16 being vertically supported by meahs'of upright legportions 18-18/At its rear end, the sill member 16 supports a verticalstrut 20 which in turn supports the rear-end portion of a top sillmember 22, the front end of which is'supported at a convergence ofthefront post members 14-14. At its rear end the base framestructuresupports a pair of vertically convergent post members 24-24 which mountat their upper ends the rear end of a subsill member 26; the frontend ofwhich is supported by the vertical strut 20 (FIG. 1). The top sillportion 22 mounts a transversely extending beam member 28 whichtelescopic ally encloses at its opposite ends stub shaft members 29(FIG. 2) which in turn carry longitudinally extending arm brackets 30.

The arm brackets 30 mount in superposed relation thereon inclinedsupport blocks 32-34 which in turn support at opposite sides of themachine a pair of "floor" pad platelike devices 36-36. The top sillmember 22 also supports a sponge cushion or the like as indicated at 40intermediately of the pads 36-36. Note that the top surface of thesupport pad 40 is somewhat rearwardly and downwardly inclined, while theupper surfaces of the pad members 36-36 are forwardly and downwardlyinclined. The subsill member 26 carries longitudinally spaced pivot pins42-42 which pivotally support laterally extending parallel arms 44-44which in turn pivotally mount at their free ends by means of pivot pins46-46 a pair of lower leg support pad devices 50-50. Pivot pins 46-46are mounted on stub shaft members 47-47, which are telescoped withinarms 44-44 and adjustably locked in position relative thereto by pin orscrew devices 48-48 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Ankle clasp devices as indicated at52-52 are provided in conjunction with the leg support pads 50-50, formaintaining the legs of the patient in proper positions on the pads50-50. Devices 52-52 are adjustably mounted adjacent the rear of pads50-50 by a pin or screw devices 54-54, which pass through devicemounting arms 56-56 (FIGS. 1 and 5).

Thus, it will be understood that a patient may be disposed to lie facedown in prone position on the apparatus; his torso being supported bythe pad 40 while his elbows and lower arms are supported by the floorpads 36-36 and while his legs are supported by the pads 50-50. Hence, itwill be clearly understood by reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawingherewith that the patients body will be thereby disposed in the attitudeof a crawling or swimming person.

A helmet device or the like as indicated at 60 is supported by means ofa horizontally extending shaft 62 which is journaled in the top apex.portion of the front post structure I4-14; the helmet 60 being therebydisposed to receive in comfortably accommodated relation therein thecrown portion of the patients head when lying on the apparatus. Themidsill member 16 supports a bearing block 64 in which is journaled adrive shaft 66 to which is keyed a crossarm structure 68 terminating atits opposite ends in upstanding post members 70 -70 dimensioned so as toextend upwardly alongside the floor pads 36-36. From FIGS. 1 and 2, itwill be seen that crossarm structure 68 includes and intermediateportion 68aand telescopic end portions 68b, which may be positionedrelative to portion 68a by pin or screw devices 68c. Each post member 70carries at its upper end an inwardly extending arm 72 which includes atelescopically extensible portion 74 terminating in a downwardlyextending wrist clasp device 75. The parts are so arranged that when thepatientis lying onthe apparatus as explained hereinabove his arms willnaturally extend into the regions of the wrist clamps 75-75; whereby thelatter may be slip-fitted upon the wrists of the patient to maintain himin operative position on the apparatus.

It is a particular feature of the present invention that provisions aremade whereby a single attendant may with ease and facility impart to apatient when lying prone on the apparatus as explained hereinabove avariety of body mobile patterning exercises. For this purpose, a driveshaft as indicated at is journaled on the frame post structure 14-14. Asillustrated at FIGS. 1, 3, the drive shaft 80 is provided with anupstanding crank arm device 82, whereby an attendant may manuallyreciprocate the crank arm to operate the device. However, it is to beunderstood that whenever the machine is to be employed to train apatient of substantial size and/or strength, the drive shaft 80 will beclutched to a motor-driven crank arm or the like; to relieve theattendant from manually supplying the necessary power. The shaft 80carries a pulley 84 driving an endless belt 86 which in turn trainsaround a pulley 87 which is keyed to the helmet support shaft 62. Hence,oscillations of the handle 82 will cause the helmet 60 to oscillateabout the axis of shaft 62. The shaft 80 also carries a pulley 88 aboutwhich trains an endless belt 90 which travels via guide rollers 92-92around a pulley 94 which is keyed to a vertical drive shaft 96 journaledin a bearing block 98 carried by the leg members 18-18. As illustratedat 99 (FIG. 1) the shaft 96 is operatively connected to the shaft 66 bymeans of a flexible coupling device; whereby it will be appreciated thatoscillations of the drive shaft 80 will be accompanied by correspondingoscillations of the arm position control member 68, as well as byoscillations of the head support helmet 60.

The shaft 96 also carries a pulley 100 driving an endless belt 102 whichtrains around a pulley 104 which is keyed to a vertical shaft 106 whichis journaled in the rear post structure of the device and is operativelyconnected by means of a flexible coupling to the rear pivot pin 42supporting one of the arms 44. Thus it will be understood that manualoscillations of the control handle 82 will also be accompanied bycorresponding oscillations of the parallelogram type support system forthe leg pads 50-50. Thus, as illustrated diagrammatically at FIGS. 6Aand 6B, manual movements of the control handle 82 will cause the legpads 50-50 and the wrist clamps 75-75 to alternately advance and retreatat opposite sides of the apparatus while causing the head support helmet60 to rotate from side to side; thereby imparting to the limbs and headof the patient a crawling or swimmingtype combination of movements.

Thus, it will be appreciated that the device of the invention is readilyadjustable to comfortably accommodate patients of different sizes; andthat it is also readily programmable to provide a wide range of relativemotion adjustments of the operating parts, simply by adjusting thelengths of the limb-engaging levers and/or by varying the pulleydiameters controlling the motions of different components of themachine. Hence, the machine is of vitally improved versatility withrespect to its use. For example, an infant patient may be comfortablyaccommodated therein and a single attendant may easily and withoutfatigue manually operate the machine to apply to the infant theprescribed patterning limb motions. As the patient grows and/or when themachine is to be adapted to train a larger/stronger patient requiringfirmer and more positive treatment, the motorized drive arrangement willbe used. Thus, in any case only one person is needed to operate themachine in fact, when the motorized drive system is being used a singleattendant may of course simultanteously supervise the trainingoperations of a number of such machines, as in a hospital facility orthe like. It will be appreciated that because all limb motion controlcomponents of the machine of the present invention are automaticallycoordinated and driven from a common power source, the action in allcases is positive and constant. Therefore, the machine operation is notvulnerable to the effects of human operator frailties, or misjudgmentsor inadvertently discordant maneuverings of the machine components, asin the case of prior machines.

it is of course to be understood that although only'one form of machineof the invention has been illustrated and described in detailhereinabove, it will be understood that various changes may be madetherein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scopeof the following claims.

lclaim:

1. A therapeutic device adapted to accommodate a patient in proneposition thereon and including means for imparting to the head and limbportions of the patient a predetermined pattern of coordinatednaturallike motions, said device comprising:

a frame;

a prone body support means carried by said frame;

a head grip means;

a shaft carried by said frame and supporting said head grip meansforwardly of said body support means for oscillating motions;

a pair ofleg support pad devices;

means extending from said frame and mounting said leg support paddevices in positionally adjusted relationship rearwardly of said bodysupport means adjacent opposite sides thereof and for movement in foreand aft directions relative to said body support means;

ankle grip devices adapted to engage the ankles of the patient;

means for supporting said ankle grip devices on said leg support paddevices;

arm support pad devices;

means extending from said frame for mounting said arm support paddevices in positionally adjusted stationary relationship relative tosaid frame at opposite sides of said body support means;

wrist grip devices adapted to engage the wrists of the patient;

means extending from said frame for mounting said wrist grip devices inpositionally adjusted relationship adjacent opposite sides of said bodysupport means and for movement in fore and aft directions relative tosaid body support means and said arm support pad devices;

drive means carried by said frame; and

means interconnecting said drive means with said head, wrist and anklegrip means for simultaneously driving the latter in selectivelycoordinated relation.

2. A therapeutic device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said bodysupport means comprises a substantially flat cushion pitched rearwardlyand downwardly, said leg support pad devices comprise substantially flatcushions pitched forwardly and downwardly, and said arm support paddevices are substantially flat and pitch forwardly and downwardly.

3. A therapeutic device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said means formounting said leg support pad devices includes a pair of generallyV-shaped struts pivotally fixed at opposite ends thereof to said legsupport pad devices and pivotally fixed intermediate the ends thereof tosaid frame for movement about parallel axes pitched forwardly andupwardly, and said means for mounting said wrist grip device supports,said wrist grip devices having pivotal movement about an axis pitchedforwardly and upwardly, the last said pivotal axis being arrangedsubstantially parallel to said pair of pivotal axes.

4. A therapeutic device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said drivemeans is selectively operable either manually or by motor means.

5. A therapeutic device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said bodysupport means comprises a substantially flat cushion pitched rearwardlyand downwardly, said arm support pad devices are substantially flat andpitched forwardly and downwardly, and said means for mounting said wristgrip device supports, said wrist grip device having pivotal movementabout an axis pitched forwardly and upwardly.

6. A therapeutic device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said frameincludes a horizontally disposed base portion;

front post means extending vertically from adjacent a front end of saidbase portion;

rear post means extending vertically from adjacent a rear end of saidbase portion;

intermediate post means extending vertically from said base portionintermediate said first and second post means;

a generally horizontal bottom still member supported adjacent front andrear ends thereon on said front and intermediate post means,respectively;

a strut member rising vertically from adjacent said rear end of saidbottom still member;

a generally horizontal top still member supported adjacent front andrear ends thereon on said front post means and an upper end of saidvertically rising strut member, respectively; and

a rear still member supported adjacent front and rear ends thereof onsaid vertically rising strut member and said rear post means,respectively, said body support means and said means for mounting saidarm support pad devices being carried on said upper still member, saidmeans for mounting said leg support pad devices being carried on saidrear still member, and said means for mounting said wrist grip devicesbeing carried by said bottom still member.

7. A therapeutic device as set forth in claim 6, wherein said means formounting said leg support pad devices includes a pair of generallyV-shaped struts pivotally fixed at opposite ends thereof to said legsupport pad devices and pivotally fixed intermediate the ends thereof tosaid rear still member for movement about parallel axes pitchedforwardly and upwardly, said means for mounting said wrist grip devicessupports same for pivotal movement about an axis pitched forwardly andupwardly, the last said pivotal axis being arranged substantiallyparallel to said pair of pivotal axes, said body support means comprisesa substantially flat cushion pitched rearwardly and downwardly, said legsupport pad devices comprise substantially flat cushions pitchedforwardly and downwardly, and said arm support pad devices aresubstantially flat and pitch forwardly and downwardly.

8. A therapeutic device as set forth in claim 7, wherein saidinterconnecting means includes a pair of vertical rising shafts coupledone to each of said means for mounting said leg support pad devices andwrist grip devices;

pulley means fixed one to each of said head grip means supporting shaftand said vertical rising shafts;

drive pulley means mounted on said front post means; and

cable means passing from said pulley means to said drive pulley means.

